Toyota Yaris will serve as a base for next generation Mazda2 come 2022

Mazda’s partnership with Toyota, which will spawn not only the new rear-wheel-drive platform and straight-six engine, will stretch to the next generation 2 underpinned by the same GA-B platform as the current XP210 Yaris.

According to Britain’s Autocar, internal financial results has revealed that Hiroshima will be offering a Yaris-based model within the next two years and not in 2021 as initially claimed, complete with the latter’s hybrid system in order to comply with the incoming 95 g/km corporate average fleet emissions requirements. It therefore also means that the current 2, which received an update earlier this year, will effectively be eight years old by the time its replacement touches down.

US-spec Yaris based on the current generation Mazda2

The joint small car venture is nothing new though as a reskinned 2 had been marketed as the Yaris in the United States until August this year, debuting first in 2016 as the sedan only Scion iA until the brand’s axing, before becoming the Yaris two years later based on the 2 hatch.

Mazda has however declined to comment on the new model, telling the publication when asked that, “As one of the multi-solution measures, we concluded that the THS is the optimum solution to respond to each region’s needs and requirements. This collaboration is the result of discussions based on our Toyota-Mazda partnership policy to use both companies’ business resources efficiently while respecting each other’s brand and management independence.”

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